On the occasion of his of his 28th birthday it is time to celebrate all things Craig.

Craig Gardner has quickly become a fans’ favourite at West Bromwich Albion with his tigerish midfield displays a hallmark of Alan Irvine’s early days in the job.

Gardner is part of that rare breed of player to have turned out for Villa, Blues and the Baggies.

Born in Solihull, Gardner rejected the chance to join Blues in 2003 in order to play for Villa.

He played against victors Middlesbrough in the 2004 FA Youth Cup Final alongside Gary Cahill and Gabby Agbonlahor before turning professional in January 2005.

Steven Davis of Southampton and Craig Gardner of West Brom

Gardner made his Premier League debut on Boxing Day 2005, when he came on as a sub for Steven Davis against Everton at Villa Park. He scored his first professional goal for Villa in the 3–1 away win on 14 April against Middlesbrough. Around this time Gardner was also capped 14 times for England Under-21s and was part of the squad which finished runners-up at the UEFA European U21 Championship in 2009.

In January 2010, after 80 appearances for Villa, he joined Blues for a fee reported as £3million plus £500,000 in add-ons..

Following relegation Gardner joined Sunderland for £6 million and made his debut as a substitute in the home defeat to Newcastle, Gardner was deployed at right back against Manchester City on New Year’s Day 2012 due to an injury crisis, and helped Sunderland to a shock 1–0 win against the league leaders.

Everton's James McCarthy battles for the ball with West Bromwich Albion's Craig Gardner

Two days later, again playing at right back, he scored his second goal for Sunderland, direct from a free kick 30 yards away from goal in their 4–1 away win at Wigan. On 20 May 2014, Gardner signed a three-year deal with Albion, officially joining the Baggies on a Bosman transfer on July 1.

He made his debut in a 2-2 draw at The Hawthorns against the Black Cats. Five bookings saw him miss the home game with Newcastle through suspension but he quickly reclaimed his shirt at Chelsea last Saturday.